Eastern’s Athletic Marketing and Promotions department will be providing students with a travel van for Saturday’s football game in Bloomington. The marketing department is providing fans with a cost-efficient way to attend the 101st Mid-America Classic between Eastern and Illinois State.

“We didn’t do this last year, but it’s something we have done in the past and we wanted to bring it back,” said Anthony Orlando, director of athletic marketing and promotions. “We call it the Panther Fan Travel Van.”

The Athletic Marketing and Promotions department is targeting two road games for this season where they will be providing transportation for students.

They are targeting the Illinois State game on Saturday, and the Tennessee-Martin game on Oct. 6 in Martin, Tenn.

“We are pinpointing two games this year, Illinois State and UT-Martin,” Orlando said. “Pertaining to ISU, that is obviously a close commute, so we wanted to get a lot of Eastern students out there and have a nice Eastern presence at Illinois State.”

The Panther Fan Travel Van will be a $30 round-trip cost, with the full price coming from the cost of the ticket.

Students can sign up for the travel van by visiting the Lantz Arena ticket office or by calling the marketing department at 581-7151. Students can also email Anthony Orlando directly at aorlando@eiu.edu.

Orlando also stressed the importance of students knowing that this is not a money-making scheme, and that the cost of travel is purely based on the price of the ticket.

“Really, we aren’t trying to make money off this event,” Orlando said. “Students want to know why the athletic department is charging $30, but that’s the price of the ticket. It’s not a money-maker for us; we just want to get the students there and provide an Eastern presence.”

With Hancock Stadium currently under renovation, Illinois State has a limited number of seats, and has stated that Saturday’s game against Eastern has been sold out.

“If you don’t already have a ticket there is no way you are going to get in to the game,” Orlando said. “It’s been sold out due to stadium renovations, so if you don’t have a ticket you probably aren’t getting in.”

The van can seat up to as many as 15 fans, but they can make arrangements to book more vans for the upcoming game.

The Panther Fan Travel Van is set to leave at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and will return at approximately 7 p.m. that night.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu